Pubdate: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL) Copyright: 2011 The Palm Beach Post Contact: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333 Author: Randy Schultz Note: Randy Schultz is the editor of editorial page of The Palm Beach Post. PILL MILL 'STRIKE FORCE' MORE LIKE POLITICAL PAINKILLER Any year would produce thousands of candidates for Most Overhyped Political Press Release. More than four months remain in 2011, but a clear favorite in Florida will be one that came out last Monday: "Governor Scott: Strike Force Winning Pill Mill War." The release accompanied a media event in Miami that featured the governor, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey and others dragooned into appearing. The intent was to give credit for Florida's fight against prescription-drug trafficking to those who came late, and in some cases reluctantly, to the fight. Five months ago, Gov. Scott was in a tough spot on this issue. He had come out early and inexplicably against a database, which the Legislature approved last year in a strong bipartisan vote, to track purchases of drugs like oxycodone. The database is designed to prevent people from obtaining multiple prescriptions of painkillers that are claiming and destroying lives from South Florida to Ohio. More pills come from South Florida than the rest of the country combined. So the governor announced a "strike force" to target pain clinics. Nothing sounds more action-oriented than a "strike force." It conjures up images of cops beating down doors and prosecutors winning convictions. In fact, cops and prosecutors in South Florida - especially in Palm Beach County - are all over this scourge. But they aren't members of any "strike force." They work for the sheriff's and state attorney's offices, and they were tracking pill-pushing reprobates long before this year. The touted "strike force" mostly offers coordinating and prioritizing, along with a bit of money. The Department of Law Enforcement divides the state into seven regions. A sheriff and police chief are chairman of each region for the "strike force." In Region 7, which runs from Palm Beach County to the Keys, the co-chairmen are Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and John Brooks, chief in the Broward County city of Sunrise. Sheriff Bradshaw said the "strike force" brought Region 7 between $800,000 and $900,000, most of that to pay local agencies for overtime that results from labor-intensive pill investigations. "It's helpful," Sheriff Bradshaw said of the money, "but, ultimately, it would take millions, just for investigations." Fortunately, local agencies didn't wait for Tallahassee. Sheriff Bradshaw and State Attorney Michael McAuliffe targeted pill dealers 18 months ago. Gov. Scott's Monday press release proclaimed the seizure of roughly 250,000 pills and nearly $1.7 million in cash and assets statewide since creation of the "strike force." In February, Sheriff Bradshaw, Mr. McAuliffe and officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration announced the results of Operation Pill Nation. That state-federal investigation alone led to the seizure of $3 million in assets. Last week, local and federal officers seized more than 6,000 pills in a sting centered on activity near the VA hospital in Riviera Beach. An FDLE spokeswoman said Operation Pill Nation happened before the "strike force," and the "strike force" doesn't count investigations with federal agencies. Given the excellent cooperation between the locals and the feds, that math makes as much sense as calculating Florida tourism without including foreign visitors. Of course, there's a script to worry about. The press release referred only to "Florida law enforcement." Attorney General Pam Bondi me-tooed the governor in praising the "strike force." Her release also implied that the "strike force" got help from a new law she supported. That law didn't take effect until July 1. A day later, Ms. Bondi said Gov. Scott and the Florida Cabinet, of which she is a member, would recognize Aug. 27 as "Prescription Drug Take-Back Day." Floridians can return unused drugs of any kind. Bring in those expired Xanax. Great. If they can recover 1 million painkillers, they will match what Sheriff Bradshaw already has recovered on his own. Obviously, any extra help against these profiteering predators will help. The Department of Health is working to suspend the licenses of suspected doctors more quickly. The problem is statewide, and prosecutors from Ms. Bondi's office are helping in some counties. But focusing on this "strike force" to boost images in Tallahassee insults all those who have been doing the real work of identifying targets, making undercover buys and building cases. Florida will win this prescription pill fight because the state must win it. The people who will win it, however, weren't at Monday's press conference. As they have been for some time, they were working. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.